Separable attachment plug



Amm 8, 1924. 1,489,937

-M. F. FITZGERALD SEPARABLE ATTACHMENT PLUG Filed March 4, 1920 Patented Apr. d, i924.

STATS MAURICE F. FITZGERALD, F VJINSTED, CONNECTICUT, ASSTCTNOR T0 THE FITZGER- ALD MFG. CO., 0F TORRNGTON, CONNECTICUT, .A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT'.

SEPABLABLE ATTACHMENT PLUG.

Application filed March 4, 1920. Serial No. 363,119.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MAURroE F.` FITZ- GERALD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Winsted, in the county of Litchield, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Separable Attachment Plugs, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to separable attach* ment plugs, and more particularly to an improved base member therefor.

An object of this invention is to provide a base member of the class described, in which each terminal consists of a single liexible metallic strip lying longitudinally within recesses in the plug base and secured in such position.

A further object of this invention is to provide a base member of the character described, in which one of said terminals is secured .in its recess by having an integral end bent over a supporting wall formed by spaced recesses extending longitudinally of the base, such bent over end being secured by a fastening means passing transversely through said bent portion and said wall.

Another object of this invention consists in providing a base member in which one of said terminals is secured in its longitudinally extending recess by having its integral end bent over a supporting wall formed by such recess, and the exterior periphery of the i plug base, the bent over end which lies on the exterior periphery of the plug base being secured in position by a contact Vshell surrounding the plug base. c

Still another object of the'invention con- 40 sists in providing a plug base having a plurality of spaced apart recesses extending longitudinally thereof, one of which lies in the periphery of saidbody, two of which` recesses form a central supporting wall, the

end of which provides a projecting shoulder over which is bent the integral end of a -iexible contact member extending longitudinally inl one of said recesses, such bent over and being secured to the shoulder by fastening means passing transversely therethrough, the second terminal of the base extending longitudinally in another recess with a portion bent over the intermediate body wall and lying in said peripheral recess, and held in such position by the exterior shell engaging the body and the terminal in such peripheral recess.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part Vbe hereinafter more fully disclosed.

In the drawings which show by way of illustration one embodiment of the invention:

terminals secured in position and lying in their longitudinal recesses;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the cap niember of the plug;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the cap;

Fig. llis a detail perspective view'of one of the terminals; Y

Fig. 5 is a similar view of they plug base without the screw shell thereon; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the cap terminals.

The general invention embraces a plug base consisting of a body of insulation having two internal longitudinal recesses forming a central supporting wall of the plug base to provide a shouldered support for one of the terminals consisting of a single iexible metallic strip ,which extends longitudinally inthis recess with its end bent over said shouldered support and fastened thereto by means passing transversely through said shouldered support and bent over ends. The other terminal, which lies longitudilnally in the other spaced recess also consists of a single flexible strip bent over the intermediate wall between its recess and the periphery of the plug, the outer end thereof preferably lying in the peripheral recess therein and held in suoli position by the exterior shell. A.

Referringmore particularly to the accoinpanying drawings, the` base member of the attachment `plug comprises an integral insulationbody l having the `bienal base frange Figure 1 is a sectional view showing the 2 and the longitudinally extending plug body 3 preferably formed with peripheral screw threads 4 to receive the exterior shell hereinafter described. The end of the plug opposite the base is provided with a tapered projection 5 terminating in a preferably flat shoulder 6. Extending longitudinally of the plug base are two spaced internal recesses 7 and 8 forming an intermediate centrally located supporting wall 9, the outer end of which projects beyond the annular peripheral rim 9 of the plug and is formed by the tapered projection -5.

In one of these recesses is a terminal member consisting of an integral flexible metallic strip 10, the outer end of whichfis bent over the centralprojection with its extreme end preferably re-entering the other internal recess 8 and secured in such position by a fastening means, preferably in the form of a rivet 12 passing transversely through such shouldered end and the bent over portions of the terminal 10. As shown clearly inV Fig. 5, the internal recesses formed in the plug and in the projecting tapered end are in alinement and provide ample room for the insertion therethrough of the transversely arranged fasteningV rivet 12. By locating the fastening member below the end of the central projecting support 5 and transversely thereof, the flat shoulder 13 of this central support may be made imperforate and absolutely smooth so as to provide a sure contact surface for this centrally projecting terminal.k It is of course obvious that this smooth unbroken shoulder instead of being absolutely fiat, may be curved.

The other terminal consists of an integral flexible metallic strip 14 having the integral end 15 folded upon itself to provide a substantially Ueshaped member. As shown in Fig. 1, this terminal extends longitudinally of the recess 8 with its bent over end supported freely by the intermediate body wall 16 formed by said recess 8 and the periphery of the plug body. In the preferred form, this bent over end 15 lies in a recess 17 formed in the periphery of the plug base 3 and in alinement with the internalrecesses 7 and 8. rIhis terminal 14'is held in this position solely by means of the screw shell 18 engaging the threads 4 on the plug and engaging the portion 15 of the terminal lying in the peripheral recess 17. n

The cap portion 19 ofthe plug is of the usual construction, being provided with a central aperature 2O to receive the terminal cable shown in dott-ed lines, and is further provided with two projecting contact blades 21 and '22 secured tothe cap in any desired y manner, such as by screws 23 and `24.`

By constructing a plug basel in the manner described, Vit is possible tov make it of the'simplest design with'the fewest number of parts. It will benoticed that the in- -apart tegral yflexible terminals extend not only lengthwise of their recesses, but slightly transversely thereof to make good contact with the blades 21 and 22 of the cap member. As before stated, by securing the terminal to the centrally arranged supporting wall, by the fastening member arranged transversely thereof, and belou7 the shouldered projecting end of such central supporting member, there is assured a smoothfaced, unbroken contact surface for this terminal. Furthermore, the central securing screw which is customarily used to hold this terminal in position, is done away with. In prior constructions the end of this central fastening screw base lies in proximity to the perforations in the base through which the cap contact blades extend, and there has always been some danger that a short circuit might be created at this point, due to the improper insertion of the cap contact blades. In the present construction, such objection is avoided. The other terminal 14 is securely held in position by reason of the exterior leg 15 lying snugly in the peripheral recess 17 and held therein by means of the shell 18. It will thus be seen that the screw shell constitutes the sole means for freely holding this terminal 14 in position. By the use of this peripheralrecess 17, the terminal portion 14 is permitted to lie more closely to the' outer supporting wall 16 whereby it assumes the desiredV substantially diagonal position within its longitudinal recess, thereby securing a more effective contact surface.

It will be obvious that changes in the arrangement of the parts and the details of the construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is

1. A separable attachment plug base comprising a body of insulation having a plurality of spaced apart recesses extending longitudinally thereof, one of which lies in the periphery of said body, a substantially U- shaped terminal extending longitudinally in one recess with its end bent over and freely straddling the intermediate body wall and lying in said peripheral recess, a shell independent of said terminal adapted to engage said body and terminal in said peripheral recess tov hold the terminal in position.

2. A separable attachment plug comprisinga peripherally threaded body of insulation terminating at one end in an annular rim, saidl body having a plurality of spaced recesses extending longitudinally thereof, one of which lies in the periphery of'saidthreaded body and forms an intermediate body wall, a substantially U-shaped terminal extending longitudinally in one recess with its end bent over and freely supand also the portion thereof lying in the peripheral recess to hold said terminal in position. i

In testimony whereof, I aix my signature.

M. F. FITZGERALD. 

